Category: Japan

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 4, 2026 1
Japan Podcast Typhoon

Typhoon Choi-wan approaching Japan’s Ogasawara Islands [Podcast Episode]

A large and powerful typhoon, now over the sea far south of Japan, is expected to move north while developing and come closest to the Pacific islands of Ogasawara early next week. People are advised to be on the alert for high waves from Sunday onward. The Japan Meteorological Agency says that as of 6 a.m. on Saturday, Typhoon Choi-wan was moving north-northeast near the Mariana Islands at a speed of 15 kilometres per hour.
The typhoon had a central atmospheric pressure of 970 hectopascals. It was packing winds of up to 126 kilometres per hour near its centre, with gusts peaking at 180 kilometres per hour.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 3, 2026 1
Health Infectious Diseases Influenza Japan

Japan Hit by Nationwide Flu Outbreak

The average number of influenza patients per monitored medical institution has exceeded 1.0 in all 47 Japanese prefectures, signaling a nationwide flu outbreak, a health ministry announcement showed Friday. The ministry said that the number of flu patients at some 3,000 regularly monitored institutions across the country came to 7.17 on average in the week through Sunday.
While the figure was slightly lower than 8.48 the previous week, a ministry official said, “The decline may be temporary, given trends in previous years.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 2, 2026 Number of comments0
Japan Podcast Sagamihara

Sagamihara Stabbings retrial bid rejected [Podcast Episode]

Uematsu had also sought a retrial in 2022, but the petition was rejected, with the rejection becoming final at the Supreme Court in October 2025. Regarding his second petition, the Tokyo High Court ruled in August 2026 that the grounds for the petition were “substantially the same” as those of his first petition, and upheld a Yokohama District Court decision rejecting it.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 1, 2026 1
Disability Japan Sagamihara

Sagamihara Stabbings retrial bid rejected; Supreme Court dismisses second special appeal

The Supreme Court’s Third Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Kimihiro Ishikane, has ruled against a second retrial petition filed by former employee Satoshi Uematsu, 36, who was sentenced to death for the 2016 killings and wounding of 45 people at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en facility for people with intellectual disabilities in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture. The decision, dated Sept. 29, dismissed the death-row inmate’s special appeal.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt October 1, 2026 Number of comments0
Barrier Free Discrimination Housing Japan Podcast

People with Disabilities in Fukuoka Face Rental Housing Woes [Podcast Episode]

A survey by the Fukuoka City-based group Association to Eliminate Discrimination against People with Disabilities in Fukuoka City found that one in 10 respondents with disabilities or their family members had been refused when looking for private rental housing.

Some respondents said they had been turned away because of their disability. Experts say such cases could constitute “unjust discriminatory treatment,” which is prohibited under Japan’s Act for Eliminating Discrimination against People with Disabilities. The survey was conducted from December last year through March this year through the group’s 20 member organizations and other channels.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt September 30, 2026 1
Barrier Free Disability Discrimination Housing Japan

Survey finds one in ten people with disabilities denied private rental housing in Fukuoka

Some respondents said they had been turned away because of their disability. Experts say such cases could constitute “unjust discriminatory treatment,” which is prohibited under Japan’s Act for Eliminating Discrimination against People with Disabilities. The survey was conducted from December last year through March this year through the group’s 20 member organizations and other channels.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt September 30, 2026 Number of comments0
Disability Japan Health Elderly Influenza

Flu “alert” level approaches in Japan as cases rise 1.5-fold from previous week

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Monday 28th September that the number of influenza cases reported by around 3,000 designated medical institutions nationwide between Sept. 14 and 20 averaged 8.48 per institution. The figure was 1.53 times higher than the previous week, continuing an upward trend and approaching the “alert” level of 10 cases per institution.